News and Events
Chesapeake Semester Orientation
August 24-30, 2009
The first week of the Chesapeake Semester included local and regional orientation activities at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, water tours with the Chester and Sassafras River Associations, and team building at Echo Hill Outdoor School.
Click to enlarge photos by Mike Hardesty '05.
Chesapeake Semester students gather on the Casey Academic Center steps on day one before their trip to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St Michaels: Dan Danko '12, Brittany Hulbert '11, Laura Carman '12, Julia Krout '12, Liz Shandor '11, Kelsey Hallowell '12, Laura Lazenby '11, and Danielle Bellezza '11.
Students arrive at Chesapeake Bay Maritme Museum and discuss forthcoming activities with the Vice President of Programs Melissa McLoud and the Director of Education Robert Forloney.
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum developed a fun-packed schedule that allowed the students to tour the different exhibits, sail on a skipjack, trotline with local waterman, and over night in a Light House.
Laura Carman '12 aboard the skipjack H.M. Krentz.
Captain Ed Farley is committed to keeping the heritage of the working skipjack alive.
Kelsey Hallowell '12 and Brittany Hulbert '11 put to work raising the main sail on the skipjack H.M. Krentz.
Students team up to raise the main sail.
While under sail, students observe a map of the Chesapeake Bay. They share stories about familiar places and explore new ones along the Bay's shoreline.
Captain Ed Farley with dredged oysters.
Students shared a moment with Alice Palmer, resident craw cracker and crab picker, who cracked claws at Tilghman Packing Company as a teenager after first working at Harrison and Jarboe Seafood.
Dan Danko '12 on the water at sunrise.
Sunrise from Tilghman Island.
Bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to crab!
Julia Krout '12 looks at the morning spectacle.
Students took a turn working the trotline with the supervision of Captain Russell Dize, local waterman of Tilghman Island.
Danielle Bellezza '11 ready to hand dip some crabs.
Working the trotline with Captain Russell Dize.
Kelsey Hallowell '12 holds the net in position.
Bushels of the Beautiful Swimmer, the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab!
Captain Russell Dize and crew.
Julia Krout '12 smiles for the camera.
Students look through their catch to throw back the undersized and claim the jumbos.
Lunch on the shores of the Sassafras River Natural Resource Management Area with Sassafras River Keeper, Kascie Herron '07. Students traveled with Kascie along the Sassafras discussing and observing point source and non-point source pollution, sedimentation, and natural and manmade erosion.
Laura Carman '12 observing turbidity on the Sassafras using a Secchi Disk.
Students travel to Echo Hill to participate in team building exercises and challenges. Liz Shandor '11 attempts the "Mohawk Walk" with a little help from Danielle Bellezza '11 as Dan Danko '12 acts as a spotter. In the background, Brittany Hulbert '11 can be seen hugging Julia Krout '12 to maintain balance.
Students spent the rest of the day overcoming fears and physical challenges on Echo Hill's Alpine Tower.
Dan Danko '12 on belay.
Climb on!
Director of Center for Environment & Society John Seidel takes the Alpine Tower without fault, folly, or fear.
Julia Krout '12 sports a protective helmet for climbing.
Brittany Hulbert '11 watches from below.
Careful handling of the rope for safe climbing.
Liz Shandor '11 aka "the Spider Monkey" effortlessly negotiates the Alpine Tower's treacherous legs.
Liz Shandor '11 and Danielle Bellezza '11 double team the course.
Victorious, Liz Shandor '11 and Danielle Belleza '11 descend the tower hand-in-hand.
Students spent that evening on Echo Hill's Skipjack Elsworth with Captain Andy McCown '77 and buyboat Annie D with Captain Tom Briggs.
Kelsey Hallowell pulls her weight helping to prepare Captain Andy's famous Summer Salad made with local vegetables and Vidalias.
Annie D.
After a long day on the low ropes course and Alpine Tower, the students enjoy an evening's sunset on the lower Chester aboard the skipjack Elsworth.
Liz Shandor aka "ol' Jones Willy" swabs the deck of the Annie D. Don't let her fool you; she's tougher than nails and meaner than a marsh rabbit before sunup.
Captain Andy hosts the students aboard the Elsworth for a sunset reading with excerpts from The Lord's Oysters and other selected readings.
An early rise for the students the following day brings them to one of the nets of pound net fisherman, Dicky Manning, Jr.
With his current workboat under repair, Dicky selected a catch including rock fish, white perch, and blue crab, which found a ready and willing market amongst the students.
Kelsey Hallowell '11 and lunch.
Students head to the shore to explore flora and fauna of shoreline ecosystems. Captain Andy illustrates the diversity of fish in a single sweep of a seine net.
Captain Tom shows off his sea lettuce. Do you know how many different kinds of aquatic vegetation there are?
A final sweep of the seine net yields more specimens of shoreline life.